By the numbers, the Lions are tied for the second hardest schedule in the NFL this season. By the eye test, theirs is hands-down the most difficult. It reads like a road gauntlet of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
The message, then, from Dan Campbell to his team is "the same as it’s always been: There’s no room for complacency," Campbell said last week.
"I love the schedule we have this year because this is the type of schedule that builds you for the postseason," he said. "Like, man, you better be on it. We’re going to get tested. Early and often and all year long, and it’s freaking awesome. It’s really how you want it. So we’ll be ready to go when the time’s right."
Four of the Lions' first six games come on the road against these foes: Jordan Love and the Packers, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, Joe Burrow and the Bengals, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. And after they get through that, they host the Buccaneers and Vikings, then visit Jayden Daniels and the Commanders and Jalen Hurts and the Eagles -- four more playoff teams from last season. Coming off a 15-2 season, there's a chance the Lions could be underdogs in at least half of their first 10 games.
They also visit Matthew Stafford and the Rams in December. Save Josh Allen and their own guy Jared Goff, the Lions' road schedule arguably comprises the top-10 quarterbacks in the NFL. Defensive back Amik Robertson smiled as if to say, perfect: "Any animal, when its back’s against the wall, you see how they react."
"You want it no other way, man," he said Thursday. "Everything earned. It ain’t given. We see the schedule, we got some hitters. But we hitters, too. May the best man win."
After driving the biggest TV ratings in the league last season, the Lions will spend most of this season in the spotlight. They have 12 games on national TV, five of them in primetime, and a divisional clash on Christmas Day along with their traditional spot on Thanksgiving. While Campbell admits he could do without so many night games due to the strain it puts on the coaches in the following days, "more primetime games is something I love," said Amon-Ra St. Brown.
"When you play good teams, they want to put you on the big screen. I think it’s a great challenge for us," he said. "If we do make the playoffs, playing teams like that gets you ready for playoff football. Each week you wanna go get battle tested, and we’re going to get that every week this year. We got some tough road games, some tough home games, so I’m excited for it.
"You love going against good teams, because if you think you’re a good team yourself, they challenge you. We’re excited for it. I know Coach Campbell is, too. It’s going to be a fun season."
There's also this to consider for the teams on the Lions' schedule: "They do have to play us," said Campbell. What he craves most is the competition.
"By the end of the year, we ought to be scared up, hardened for battle, and ready for the playoffs," he said. "There will be nothing easy about it. Just to get through our own division is going to be brutal. But it's the right kind of brutal.”
It's not just the schedule, and a division that features three playoff teams and a fourth seemingly on the rise in the Bears. It's the fact that the Lions lost their top two coordinators, one of them to an NFC North rival, and several other key coaches. It's the fact that their All-Pro center and the quarterback of their offensive line just retired, leaving their most important unit with two gaping holes. It's the fact that their two best defensive linemen are coming off major injuries, one of whom likely won't be back until midway through the season.
If it feels like the deck is stacked against the Lions to continue their reign in the North and eventually conquer the NFL, all the better, says Campbell: "Give us any nugget you need to. It’s all good. We’ll take all of that. Give us every excuse and we will use that, especially when the time is right."
"But we’re not worried about, I’m not worried about (the narrative) that we don’t have pass rush. I’m not worried about we lost two coordinators. I’m not worried about the injuries. I’m not worried about the Hall of Fame game. I’m not worried about the schedule. I think it’s perfect," he said. "I think it lines up perfect.
"I think it’s going to be what’s best for us with where we’re at going into my fifth year here, the core of this team’s fifth year. I really think it’s exactly what we’re going to need. The timing is perfect."
